(Football news) It has been a long battle between US Soccer and the US Women’s National football team about the equitable treatment of female players. That struggle is now set to be over as the two have reached a settlement which involves a multimillion-dollar payment to the players and the assurance by the federation for equal pay between the men’s and women’s national football teams.
As part of the agreement, a settlement of $24 million from US Soccer will be distributed amongst past and present players with the bulk of the total sum being spent as “compensation” for years of unequal pay between the men’s and women’s teams. US Soccer has also pledged to equalize pay for both men and women’s national teams in all football competitions which is not just a victory for the sport but also a win for a broader fight for equality for women in the sports industry at large.
In recent times, athletes from other sports such as ice hockey, WNBA players and Olympic gold medallists have also sought guidance from the US Women’s soccer team for better pay and working conditions. As a result, players from Norway, the Netherlands and Australia have seen the soccer federations in their countries committing to closing the pay gap even while the case between US Soccer and the US Women’s national team was ongoing.
“I think it was just extremely motivating to see organizations and employers admit their wrongdoing, and us forcing their hand in making it right,” said Alex Morgan, a striker and former co-captain of the women’s national team. “The domino effect that we helped kick-start — I think we’re really proud of it.”
Despite the significant expenses from the settlement, the biggest price US Soccer has had to pay in this saga has been the damage to their reputation and their sponsors. The federation was winning the battle and in 2020 a federal judge had dismissed the claims for equal pay and had stripped them off their legal leverage with an appeal unlikely to succeed. However, the settlement is an unexpected and an important victory for the players. The settlement does come with one important condition that it’s subject to a new contract between US Soccer and the Players Union which could take months to resolve.
As part of this settlement, the men’s team will have to share and surrender millions of dollars in payment from FIFA for the World Cup as the money given by the football governing body for the men’s tournament is significantly more than what’s provided for the women’s tournament. Cone, a former member of the women’s team said “Moving forward and tying this settlement with the C.B.A. is important for both groups. Because we all believe in equal pay, and the only way we can get there — until FIFA equalizes the World Cup prize money — is for the men’s team, the women’s team and U.S. Soccer to get together and reach an agreement on equalizing it ourselves.”
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